Low-Energy, Solventless Coating Processes

Abstract:GVD Corporation is commercializing solvent-free, chemically-pure polymer coatings formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). GVD’s all-dry coatings currently range from fluorocarbons to silicones to electrically-conductive polymers. These novel coatings are deposited from the vapor phase, obviating the need for harmful VOCs, and are spectroscopically-indistinguishable from conventional solution-polymerized coatings. GVD’s PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene, also known as Teflon®) coatings, for example, show no evidence of the oxidative damage and cross-linking associated with conventional plasma deposition processes. Critically, GVD’s clean PTFE process uses none of the solvents or surfactants (e.g., PFOA) incorporated into spray-on PTFE formulations. The waste effluent from GVD’s process is treated using a standard scrubbing approach. GVD’s coatings can be deposited at room temperature, such that even facial tissue can be coated with ease.